11 miles

[verdesardog]

Saturday got a call about 2 stranded hikers on the Bell Trail. I told the call out persont to call me back if she didn't get enough hikers, needless to say I got called back. If they had just had flash lights we wouldn't have been needed.

2 Rubicon jeeps and my CTD drove 2 miles down a closed road through a forest service gate, the truck made it just fine with hardly any damage....lol. I did get way off camber on one section trying to stay in the leading jeeps tracks, that was kind of scary. I had to back down and take a different track.

It was a night from hell....of that 11 miles we had 1,500 foot elevation gain, 1000 feet of that in less than one mile! One member of our team slipped and bashed the side of his face pretty good on a stream crossing. The rain gauge in my back yard had 1 1/4 inch of water in it when I got home after 12 hours of hiking.

 

[verdesardog]

 

[digitaldelay]

It was a night from hell.

Brutal! Did you get them out ok?

Looks like there is a trailhead just south of Casner Butte (37.500N, 38.000E on your map). Is that where you had to leave the trucks?

Nice truck, btw!

Jason

 

[verdesardog]

We can drive into the wilderness for SAR but we left the vehicles at the edge of the wilderness right on the Bell trail. Actually the vehicles couldn't have negotiated any farther anyway. And yes that was just about at the foot of Casner Butte.

The coordinates we got from the 911 dispatcher were bogus, the non forest patrol deputy gave the subjects bogus instructions by telling them to go down to the water which put them out of cell phone range. They were found later that morning about 1 mile from the trail head!

On our way in (just at dusk) we did pass some hikers on foot who would have seen them if they had stayed where they were when they called 911 and since the subjects were at the water they couldn't hear our vehicles nor could we see them on our way in.

A totaly BOGUS night search! But it was fun.....Yeah I love my truck, it replaced a 1994 Dakota 4X4 with over 270,000 miles on it and not nearly as capable.

 

[bfdiesel]

I have found most the time the coordinates from the dispatchers are less than trustworthy

 

[Maverick1701]

I have found most the time the coordinates from the dispatchers are less than trustworthy

^ the history of 911 response/law enforcement has just been summarized in one sentence!!!